RUSTON - With nine days remaining before the season opener against Nevada, Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell is still contemplating who will be his starters at a number of positions.

Gone are four-year starters in quarterback Luke McCown, kicker Josh Scobee and punter Dustin Upton which opens the door for plenty of debate as to who will fill those shoes.

"To be honest, I'm not going to give myself a deadline at this point," Bicknell said. "Each practice we evaluate a little more. It's tough because there are some pretty close calls at all three positions at this point. No one guy has separated himself at any of the three spots."

Since the end of spring practice, it's been well-documented that juniors Matt Kubik and Donald Allen are toe to toe in the battle for the starting quarterback slot. Bicknell said he hasn't seen anything to change his mind at this point.

"In one regard, it's good that we have more than one guy who can play the position," Bicknell said. "Obviously, one don't want just one guy who is great and the rest who you would be scared to play in a game. That's not are situation.

"However, they are just so close at this point. The one thing I want to make sure I do with the two of them is be completing honest as to what I'm planning on doing in those first few games. And at this point, I'm still not 100 percent sure."

Freshmen Danny Horwedel, Zach Myatt and Brad Ostreicher are currently competing for the place-kicking duties while freshmen Matt Butler, Bennett Montz and Chris Keagle are fighting for the starting punter responsibilities.

The Bulldogs will undergo their final day of two practices on Friday as Bicknell plans a one-hour full-pad, full-speed special teams session for 8:45 a.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium before returning for an evening session at 7 p.m.